Tennessee Families Sue to Block Ban on Gender-Affirming Care

Three families with transgender children and one doctor are suing the state of Tennessee over its ban on gender-affirming care for trans minors.

Senate Bill 1, signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee in March, bans surgery, puberty blockers, and hormone treatment for the purpose of gender transition for people under 18. It goes into effect July 1, and trans youth currently receiving this care have to end it within nine months of the effective date. At the same time, Lee signed a bill banning public drag performances.

The suit was brought by Samantha and Brian Williams of Nashville and their 15-year-old transgender daughter, two other plaintiff families filing anonymously, and Dr. Susan Lacy of Memphis. They are represented by Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union and its Tennessee affiliate, and the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. The suit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

It names as defendants Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, the Tennessee Department of Health, the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners, and various state officials.

“The Heath Care Ban violates the constitutional rights of Tennessee adolescents and their parents, and — if it goes into effect — will cause severe and irreparable harm,” the complaint says. The law violates the constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process as well as Affordable Care Act’s Section 1557, which bans sex discrimination in health care, the suit asserts. The plaintiffs seek to block the law from going into effect.

“It was incredibly painful watching my child struggle before we were able to get her the lifesaving health care she needed. We have a confident, happy daughter now, who is free to be herself, and she is thriving,” Samantha Williams said in a Lambda Legal-ACLU press release. “I am so afraid of what this law will mean for her. We don’t want to leave Tennessee, but this legislation would force us to either routinely leave our state to get our daughter the medical care she desperately needs or to uproot our entire lives and leave Tennessee altogether. No family should have to make this kind of choice.”

“The attack that Tennessee legislators and the governor have launched against transgender youth and their families and providers is stunning in its cruelty,” said Sruti Swaminathan, staff attorney for youth at Lambda Legal. “They are actively ignoring the science, dismissing best-practice medical care, intervening in a parent’s right to care for and love their child, and explicitly exposing trans youth in Tennessee to rampant discrimination. This law is not just harmful and cruel, it is life-threatening.”

“Tennessee’s law is an unconscionable attack on transgender youth and their families,” added Joshua Block, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ &HIV Project. “There is simply no reason other than ignorance or prejudice to single out gender-affirming care for a categorical ban based on standards that Tennessee does not apply to any other type of medical treatment. Transgender families should not have to flee their home state to access this necessary medical care.”

Last week North Dakota became the latest state to ban gender-affirming care for trans minors. Other states that have outlawed most or all such care through legislation are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia. Florida has put a ban in place through its medical boards and is considering a bill for an even stricter measure. Missouri's attorney general has put out severe restrictions on this care. The Alabama and Arkansas bans are temporarily blocked by court action. Bans are pending in several other states.